Dr. Taylor, PH.D.

Sean had his Ph.D. defense this last Friday. As you can see from the pictures, he passed. We are all very excited and proud of him. This is one of the last big hurdles to graduating. He needs to officially submit his dissertation to the Graduate School by March 15th (he has completed the dissertation but is still waiting for comments/revisions from members of his graduation committee) and then the dissertation is sent out for review by 4 readers. We are feeling great about this and are happy to have this stage of our lives almost over.

I think I look weird here--my nose is too scrunched up. Sean is sure a handsome man!

These pictures are so classic Sean. Sean was promised by his boss, Anna Pyle, that he if he joined her lab 5 years ago, she would give him a Reese's peanut butter cup every day. She didn't keep that promise of course but she gave him another Reese's peanut butter cup at the celebration party they had after the defense.

On Saturday, we spent the day up in Kent, Connecticut with Sean's parents and his sister's family (they each drove in to see Sean's defense on Friday). It was a NICE day--sunny, a bit chilly but not freezing and clear blue skies. We went up to Kent Falls, into Kent to stop at our favorite chocolatier Belgique and down to see one of two covered bridges in Connecticut. Sean and I haven't spent the weekend together for month with how busy he's been, so it was very nice to have a family day.

Annie is very glad to have her Daddy done. It has been a stressful month for all of us but we've managed. Thanks for all the well-wishes/thoughts/prayers/etc. that have been extended on our behalf! Sean is currently interviewing for jobs and post-docs all over so we will keep you posted on what ends up happening.